Really Good Bad Idea
by jesteringKinghood
Summary: Alya has a new plan for Marinette to win Adrien's affection.


"This is a bad idea," Marinette said as her best friend, Alya Cesaire, eagerly bounced up and down.

"Girl, this is a great idea!" Alya told Marinette as she grabbed the petite girl's shoulders. "You are going to get Adrien to notice you by being a flirty little temptress and-"  
"Alya!" Marinette interrupted, pink faced. She leaned in closer to her friend to keep her voice down, "I am not a flirty little temptress!"

"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, Mlle. Cesaire, do you have anything to add to the discussion?" Mme. Bustier sternly asked the two gossiping girls.

Marinette sheepishly shook her head as Alya responsibly responded, "No, Mme. Bustier."

"See to it that you pay attention to the material."

"Yes Mme. Bustier."

Marinette gave her best friend a look before putting her head down on the desk. Alya moved closer to Marinette and whispered something that made the secret superhero immediately sit straight up.

"Alya!"  
"Mademoiselle, if you do not have anything to say do not disturb class. If I tell you one more time you will have to visit the principal," the redhead teacher scolded.

Marinette glanced at the two boys craning their heads around to see the girl in question, and glumly replied, "Yes, Madame." She wanted attention from Adrien, but not because she was in trouble. Marinette groaned at the devious smirk Alya had on her face. This was going to be a long day.

Marinette joined Alya for lunch instead of eating alone. The blogger insisted on some girl talk. Normally, she would be all for a plan to try and get Adrien to notice that she was perfect for him, but Alya's newest scheme left the heroine apprehensive.

"Okay, so, we've established that you've got to show Adrien your womanly wiles and he will immediately want to go out with you," Alya strategized with a mouth full of brioche.

Marinette peaked over Alya's shoulder to make sure that her parents weren't nearby. She relaxed seeing the two busy with baking and taking care of customers.

"Alya, I don't see how my 'womanly wiles'," she air quoted, "will win Adrien over! For one, I don't have any and Adrien should see the real me."

"Marinette, you definitely have what it takes! It's just buried under the good girl in all that pink," She said sagely, ignoring Marinette's grumble that she likes the color pink thank you very much. "Now, I have the perfect plan. Tonight we are going to prep you to knock Adrien's fancy socks off, which you will, and tomorrow when we get together to work on the group project I will sit next to Nino and you will sit next to Adrien. He's going to be dazzled and you're going to sweet talk him with little to no stuttering and then he'll ask you on a date."

Marinette shoved her head in her hands. "I really don't think this'll work. I can't even ask him to borrow a pencil, much less ask him out!"

"Hey, I know for a fact you've got this. I've seen you stand up to Chloe and take charge of the class. If you can do that, you can do this."

Marinette gave a wry grin and thought, _if only she knew what else I can do_. Her best friend brushed the crumbs off of her hand and took Marinette's hands off of her face and into her grip. "Just you wait! Now, come on, let's get back to school before Mme. Mendeleiev rips our head's off."  
"Yeah, okay," she smiled and slung her bag over her shoulder and pocketed an extra cookie to give to Tikki later. Hopefully, the rest of the day would keep the good streak up.

Surprisingly, Marinette made it through the day with only a minor skirmish with Chloe and a small stutter when she said goodbye to the love of her life, Adrien. Her homework was complete, and her parents had made a fresh batch of sweets for the sleepover they were going to have. Tomorrow they had no school but were meeting up in a cafe with Nino and Adrien to work on their group project. It must have been obvious that Marinette was nervous because her kwami flew up from her spot on Marinette's pillow.

"Marinette," Tikki said warmly. "Alya may be a bit…outgoing, but she has her heart in the right place. Besides, what she's saying fits! You can totally get Adrien to notice you, even through Alya's methods. It's the girl behind everything that counts!"  
Tikki nudged Marinette's cheek, making the bluenette giggle. "You know what Tikki, you're right! I've got this! Adrien's not going to know what hit him!"

"That's the spirit!" The kwami said. "I better hide before Alya gets here. Imagine how she'd react if she saw me."

"I don't really want to know how that would go over," Marinette shuddered, but placed a chocolate chip cookie into the plush hideaway she had made for Tikki in her drawer.

Foresight may not have been one of the experienced kwami's skills, but at that moment Alya came through the trapdoor to her room.

"Hey girl," the reporter called as she entered, dropping a couple of bags on the floor. "Hope you don't mind, your mom let me in."  
"Of course not," Marinette replied, poking one of the bags with her foot. "But what are these?"  
"These," Alya grinned, the light reflecting off of her glasses in an almost maniacal way, "are for tomorrow."

Marinette felt the apprehension build in her chest. Alya pulled out stacks of magazines from one bag and something that Marinette would never normally wear in the other.

"Marinette, we've got some work to do."

Marinette Dupain-Cheng stared at the door to the cafe anxiously as she pulled her jacket closer around her. It had just snowed, so she wasn't just wearing a big jacket to hide her outfit. Alya grabbed her arm and pulled her in as the door dinged. Marinette felt her mind stop working when she saw Adrien and Nino sitting down at a table, the latter waving enthusiastically while Adrien waved with less energy but a big smile.

"I'm done for," the hero of Paris muttered, swaying. Alya gripped the girl by her shoulders to keep her upright and fiercely whispered, "No! We've planned this out. I'm going to sit next to Nino which means you sit next to Adrien. Okay?"

Marinette nodded numbly and allowed Alya to steer her towards the empty seat near her longtime crush. She could barely hear Alya exchanging pleasantries with the boys, she only saw Adrien's lips moving. Oh, those lips. Those sweet, smiling lips-

Someone was nudging her. It was Alya. "Right Marinette?" The redhead said forcibly. Realizing she was making a fool of herself, Marinette laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, Alya, of course."

"Right, so Marinette agrees that _Germinal_ is a story of romance. I think we should hit upon Catherine's romance with Etienne as our main focus."  
Marinette flushed, she didn't even realize what she was agreeing to.

Adrien's perfect brows furrowed together as he spoke, "I don't really think it's about their love. Sure, their love was important but it really was a smaller focus to revolution that Etienne tried to save." _Sounds like me and Ladybug,_ Adrien thought in disappointment. If they didn't have to fight akumas, he would have swept her off of her feet by now.

 _Come on Marinette, sweep him off his feet!_ Marinette thought to herself, clenching her fists under the table with determination. Marinette reached to undo her jacket and placed it over the chair behind her. Across the table, Nino's eyes widened in appreciation and Alya kicked him under the table.

"Nah, I agree with Adrien, Alya. This is a novel written about political change and the harshness of 19th century France. Woah, I'm digging the shirt Marinette-ow!" The DJ winced at Alya's kick.

"You alright, Nino?" Adrien asked, before looking up at said girl. Marinette was blushing, the pink making her cheeks glow. She was wearing a clingy sweater that exposed her shoulders and much of her upper arms. The best part about the shirt was that it was dark green. Adrien loved green. Sure, it wasn't Chat Noir's bright green but the dark color still felt like his. Marinette's dark eyelashes lifted as she made eye contact with him. Adrien felt his own cheeks heat up as Marinette met his gaze before looking away.

"-bro. Adrien?" Nino poked his best friend, who straightened and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, Nino, of course," he said, unintentionally echoing Marinette's earlier words.

"No," Marinette said, hesitantly. "I think this should be all about the romance."

She looked directly at him as she said the last word. Adrien swallowed, unable to say anything at that moment.

Under the table, Alya pumped her fist in success. Nino's palm met hers in a celebratory high five. Marinette toyed with her hair that she had left in an over the shoulder ponytail as she looked down at her book. She couldn't believe she just did that!

"Look, the fact is I know that the strike should be the more important part, but Mme. Bustier would like the romance aspect more. She loves that stuff! It's not really pressing to do it about the miners, anyways. Ours can be a fresh perspective since everyone else will be doing it about the workers." Alya offered to the group. "Now for the lame part, finding all the quotes."

Adrien groaned and rubbed the back of his head. He didn't know what just happened. He took out _Germinal_ and opened it to start looking for parts dealing with the hidden love story. Every so often his eyes would dart up to look at Marinette. It was weird seeing her in an outfit so different than what she normally wore, but he liked it.

Once the group gathered enough information, their drinks were either gone or too cold. Nino leaned back in his seat, "I'm tired, dude. I think we all need a break right about now."

Marinette shut her book and groaned at the thought of doing more work. "If I read anymore, my heads going to burst."

Alya stood up and eyed Nino. "I think it's time for a snack break. Nino, come help me."

The blogger sent Marinette a wink and she felt dread sink into the pit of her stomach. Alya was leaving them alone together on purpose!  
"That's a good idea guys!" Adrien smiled. "Make sure to grab me a croissant."

 _Those are his favorite_ , Marinette idly thought. She knew all about his favorite things.

"Come on Nino!" Alya grabbed the DJ by the arm and dragged him away, but not before she pushed Marinette's chair so she was closer to Adrien.

Adrien smiled at her when the two left. "I like your new shirt, Marinette," he commented.

Marinette blushed and smiled. He just complimented her! "T-thanks, Adrien."

Silence fell as Adrien packed away his notes. While he did that, Marinette was giving herself a pep talk. Be a flirty temptress! If this doesn't work, Alya will make her do worse things. That thought alone made her kickstart into a conversation.

"S-so, Adrien," Marinette started, getting the blonde's attention. He looked up at her.

"What's up, Marinette?"

Marinette's heart fluttered. Just a few words and he made her a mess.

"Hey, you." The dark haired girl said, releasing that she was supposed to say that first. Oh well. "I've been, uh, thinking about you lately."

She had dropped her voice to a lower octave and tried to make her voice as sultry as she could. All of the teen magazines she had read said that was a good idea.

"Oh?" Adrien said, taken aback. Marinette rarely talked to him without her sentences falling apart. This seemed...different.

"Yeah," Marinette continued sweetly. "When I p-picked out this shirt I, hm, I couldn't get you out of my mind?" She was doing it! Well, that last part unintentionally sounded like a question and she's stuttering a bit but she got that all out. She smiled, partly to be cute and partly because she was celebrating.

Adrien really didn't understand what was going on. Does she think of him a lot? He does really like her shirt. The girl opposite to him leaned forward on the table and Adrien felt the tips of his ears heat up.

Marinette took a moment to breath. Here she is, with her crush, making progress! After leaning forward she sighed, bringing a hand to the side of her face, and bit her lip slightly as if she were thinking.

The secret super hero stared at Marinette and realized he was supposed to say something. "I, um, well I think that shirt really looks good on you, Marinette."

Here it comes. Marinette felt her throat tighten in anticipation. Was it getting hot in here, or was it just Adrien being cute?

"I think this shirt would look even better somewhere else," she delivered perfectly without any mistakes.

The two stared at eachother for a moment, Adrien's mouth opening slightly. She could see that he was struggling to find something to say, and she looked away for a moment.

With her head facing anywhere but Adrien, her face twisted into a silent scream. She just said that! _I feel faint_ , Marinette thought. She made eye contact with Alya, who was waiting in line. Her friend stared her down and mouthed "Do it!" Reassuring herself, she turned back to Adrien.

 _Look better somewhere else?_ Adrien wondered. What did she- oh. He found it hard to swallow for a moment. That was something Adrien would never have suspected to come out of sweet and clumsy Marinette Dupain-Cheng's mouth.

"Oh," Adrien repeated, voice squeaky. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and smiled slightly. Sure, Chloe and even Lila had flirted with him before, but he had never thought about anything like this.

"I, well," she looked down and fiddled with her sleeve, drawing his attention to her bare shoulders. She never really wore anything that exposed more than her lower arms. "I think your shirt would, uh, look better somewhere else, t-too. My, my bed room normally is, um, really clean b-but I think I can make an exception if you," she paused, gathering her courage, "if you want to make it dirty."

Adrien's stomach did a flip. This really was something he wasn't used to. Here was the meek girl who sat behind him in class making him feel things that were normally reserved for Ladybug. If he was Chat Noir right now he could flirt back in an instant, but as Adrien he was defenseless.

"I, uh," he couldn't exactly think of something more clever to say. "Your um, shirt? Aren't you cold?"

Marinette gathered confidence from the fact that he was acting more like how she normally does. Alya was right, this really was working.

"Can I use you as a blanket, then?" She responded, noticing how he subconsciously leaned in closer. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as they both looked at each other, clear blue to bright green. The world around them stopped as Adrien hesitated in his response.

"You're so cute it's distracting," Adrien said without realizing. Marinette's face heated up immediately. "I mean, you're cute but that's not- I mean I'm not saying you're ugly you're really pretty and sweet but-"

Marinette fell into Adrien's lap as the ground rumbled beneath her. The ground continued to quake and Marinette automatically wrapped her arms around Adrien's waist for support. After a moment of surprise he grabbed onto her to keep her steady.

"Marinette are you alright?" Adrien asked, suddenly fully alert. Paris wasn't a place for earthquakes. This was most likely an akuma.

"Y-yeah," she mumbled into his shirt.

"Oh!" Adrien said, for what must've been the 15th time that day. He released her and she sat up, blushing and fixing her hair.

"I AM THE ICE BREAKER!" A voice boomed from outside. "And all of Paris will know that they will not have an ice time!"

Adrien groaned. That was a terrible pun. Now he couldn't use it against the pesky akuma ruining whatever this was.

"I'm going to go check on Alya and Nino!" Adrien said as he got up and headed towards the side exit to go save the day.

"O-Okay!" Marinette called as she too got up. She was ready to save the day and defeat the akuma that ruined her tactics to get Adrien. At least he had already left and gave her a steady get-away.

"Tikki, spots on!"

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug called as she threw a shoe up into the air. Little ladybugs flew through the city of Paris and repaired any damage left from their fight.

"Pound it!" The crime fighting duo said in unison, grinning at their job well done.

"Chat, you seemed really out of it today, are you alright?" Ladybug asked her partner.

Chat Noir gave a sheepish grin. "Yes, my lady, I'm alright. I just uh, was doing something before we had to fight the akuma." His miraculous beeped and he kissed her hand. "I'll see you for patrol, love bug."

He jumped off of the rooftop they had defeated the akuma on and Ladybug watched him go as her earring beeped. He wasn't very flirty today, which she found odd.

"Flirty! Oh no!" Ladybug exclaimed and yo-yo'd back to the cafe as fast as she could. She made it behind the store right as her transformation wore off. Tikki came flying out of her earrings.

"Don't worry Tikki, I'll get you something to eat right away." She said as the red kwami flew into her purse with a smile.

The super heroine ran into the cafe and sat down at the table where the rest of her group was.

"I was just uh, out looking for you all! That was scary," Marinette made up as she sat down.

"Yeah, I hid in the back," Adrien said sheepishly.

Alya looked excited as she finished typing on her phone. "Well, I got that all down for the Ladyblog!"  
"I tried to stop her, but you know once she sees black and red she doesn't stop," Nino said with a wave of his arms.

Marinette grinned. Alya was certainly at each of the crime scenes for every fight.

Suddenly Adrien cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. Marinette looked at him and flushed, realized what she had been saying to him earlier.

"Hey, Marinette, can I talk to you?" He asked, his smile making Marinette's heart melt.

She stood up from her seat immediately, nodding furiously. Alya and Nino exchanged looks as the two walked a few feet away.

"I was wondering…" Adrien looked nervous. Oh no, what if he never wanted to see her again and wanted her to move seats and move schools or move out of the country and never talk to him ever again or-

"Would you like to go to the movies with me later?"


End file.
